Coin collecting and registering



May 29, 1951 G. M. WILCOX ETAL 2,555,176

com COLLECTING AND REGISTERINGDEVICE Filed Dec. 18, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet1 jezvezz fozfs Gr y///e M I OX I l/ak n" 5. .To.

May 29, 1951 I G. M. WILCOX ETAL 2,555,176

com COLLECTING AND REGISTERING nsvrcs Filed Dec. 18, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet2 May 29, 1951 G. M. WILCOX ET AL com COLLECTING AND REGISTERING DEVICE4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 18, 1944 aw V x C E @AM. AW mmm fi iiw May29, 1951 G. M. WILCOX ETAL COIN COLLECTING AND REGISTERING DEVICE FiledDec. 18, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 29, 195 1 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE COIN COLLECTING AND REGISTERING DEVICE Granville M.Wilcox, Lincoln, and Walter .S. Johnson, Providence, R. I., assignors toMax L. Grant, Providence, R. I.

Application December 18, 1944, Serial No. 568,716

8 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to apparatus for collecting andregistering coins, and has reference to a novel constructionparticularly suitable for bus and trolley use.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an apparatus intowhich any number of coins of all denominations may be dropped ordeposited, the coins being selectively registered and totalized.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in whichdeposited coins are selectively registered and then positioned in openview for visual inspection.

,Still another object is to provide an apparatus of the type describedwhich includes a removable totalizing counter mechanism, whereby the busor trolley conductor is responsible for an individually issued countermechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a complementary lightsystem for isually indicating the registry of the individual coinsdropped or deposited in the apparatus.

An additional object of the invention is to pro- I vide a coinregistering apparatus which does not require resetting or otherattention on the part of the conductor after a registration has beencompleted.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, theinvention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosedin the detailed description following, in

conjunction with the accompanying drawings,

and-more specifically defined .in the .claims appended thereto.

In the drawings:

Fig.1 is a front elevation of the novel coin collector and registerapparatus;

Fig. 2 is a left side view of Fig. l, the counter mechanism beingremoved and parts of the coin hopper being in section;

Fig. 3 is a perspective. view of the removable counter mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 2, the coin hopper .being removed toexpose the selector guide plate; Fig. 5 is a. viewsimilarto Fig. 4, theselector .guide plate being removed to expose the selector mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on the line l-.--!

of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a rear view of Fig. 3; Fig. 9 is an enlarged .detail planview, parts being omitted;

Fig. 10 is an enlargedrear elevation of Fig. 5, parts being omitted;

Fig. 11 is a side view of the coin receptacle for receiving theregistered coins;

Fig. 12 is a top plan view of Fig. 11; and,

Fig. 13 is a detail perspective View of the .coin discharge mechanism.

"It has been found desirable to provide a coin collector and registerwhich is particularly suitable for bus and trolley use. To this end, we

have devised an apparatus which includes a coin into a collectingcompartment from which they may be removed when convenient.

The coin hopper The coin collector and register is housed in a frameIt), see Fig. 1, which is preferably of box form and includes metalstandards H and cross bars [2 of angle formation, and side Walls ofsuitable materials set into the standards and cross bars, it beingpreferred to have the front wall of glass. The standards are extendedvertically as indicated by the reference numeral [3 .to detachablyreceive a coin hopper M which nests within the extensions 13.

The hopper has a large central and generally conicalentrance mouth I 5,as shown in Fig. 2, which leads toan angularlypositionedcompl annel L6,wherebyany number of ,coins ,of ,anysize may be dropped or depositedinto the hopper mouth to pass downwardly in sequence into the channel16. 'The hopper thusfunctions as a coin receiver which stacks thereoeived coins regardless of their size or value,,and the angularchannel It prevents removalof or tampering withthe coins. therein.

The coin selector mechanism After the coins ,have been stacked, they areselectively distributed for registration. As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, aguide plate I1 is positioned below the hopper, the uide plate beingpreferably of metal and having an upstanding guide channel It which ispositioned directly under the lower end of thehopper channel liwherebythe coins dropped ,or deposited in vthe hopper mouth become stacked, inthe, guide channel; 18. he guide plate I] is releasably ,imounted on aselector plate [9 by means of spring pressed retaining screws 2|], seeFig. 2, the hopper having openings or recesses ill to seat over theupper ends of the retaining screws. The use of spring pressed retainingscrews and a metal guide plate permits a slight give if a coin is bentor deformed, the coin in such case raising the metal plate slightly soas not to block the coin movement.

The selector plate l9, see Figs. 5, 6, is recessed or countersunk toprovide a space 22 in which a centrally pivoted movable arm 23 mayrevolve, the arm being bevelled on one side as indicated at 24. Theplate [9 has a plurality of coin receiving openings 25 of different andgraduated width arranged in an annular path, each opening having a rampor bevelled entrance slide 26 at its forward end. As the arm 23 rotatesin a clockwise direction it contacts the lowermost coin of the stack inthe channel l8, see Fig. 6,

and pushes it forwardly before it in an annular ,of the arm issufiicient to keep the coins outwardly over the openings. I

The coin which passes downwardly through an opening of the proper widthfalls into a retention chamber 21, there being one chamber for eachopening, see Fig. 9. The chambers 21, see Fig. 7, are preferably made ofinsulating material, such as suitable plastic, the outer side 28 beingof metal to be electrically grounded, and are secured to the under sideof the selector plate in any desired manner. A movable partition 29 ishingedly mounted in each chamber on a hinge pin 30 secured in the sidewalls, and has a forward tongue 3| which functions as a releasablebottom for the chamber and which slants forwardly downwardly towards themetal side 28, but does not touch the metal side, and a rear extension32 which projects outwardly through a suitable opening in the rear wallof the chamber, a leaf spring 33 being mounted on the hinge pin 30 forreleasably retaining the partition in coin holding position. The ends 34of the rear extensions are bent downwardly to be periodically engaged bya revolving cam 35,

as shown in Fig. 7, to swing the partition for releasing a coindeposited thereon.

The coin selector operating mechanism The mechanism for operating thearm 23 and the cam 35 is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. A support plate 36 ismounted beneath the selector plate by means of four spaced bolts 31, andhas a depending electric motor 38 secured thereto,

gear 44 being mounted on. the end of the worm gear shaft and meshingwith the bevel gear to impart rotation to a worm 45 which is keyed ticalshaft 41, see Fig. 7, having the cam 35 keyed T thereof. The cam 35 isdisplaced counterclockwise with respect to the arm 23 to provide the"proper time interval between the selecting of a 'into a collectionchamber 60 The coin register mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, apair of vertical support channels 48 are secured to the front sidestandards II to slidingly receive a backing 49 on which a series ofelectrically operated regis-,

ters or counters 50 are mounted. The backing is made of non-conductingmaterial, and each counter is connected by wiring to a central conductor5!, see Fig. 8, and to individual spring strip conductors 52. When thecounter backing is slid into position in the channels 48 the springstrip conductors 52 each contact a contact button 53, see Fig. 2, toform the individual counter circuits, and the bar 54, which is attachedto the central conductor 5|, contacts the buttons 55 to form the motorconnections.

'Each coin chamber partition 29 is wired to a connection 53, see Fig.10, which is mounted on a non-conductor plate 51 mounted on two of theholding bolts 31, the connections 56 being in turn connected with thecontact buttons 53, the parts being so arranged that when the cam 35moves the partition to release a coin the circuit is completed by thecoin bridging the gap between the partition and the grounding wall 28 ofthe chamber.

The completing of the circuit causes the proper counter ,to be actuated;and the lights 58, see Fig. l, are included in the counter circuits sothat a light flashes for each coin registered, the lights beingpreferably of different colors to indicate different coin values. Poweris supplied to the apparatus through suitable wiring 59, see Fig. 2.

The electric circuit is thus from the source of supply, through thegrounded frame and the motor shaft, through the revolving cams, throughthe movable partition, then a deposited coin to the metal side of thechamber, through the counters and the lights, and back to the source ofsupply, the circuit being complete only when a coin is in the particularchamber designed to receive it.

The coin collecting mechanism When a coin passes through the hopper, theselector, and the proper coin chamber, it falls which has two spacedinclined troughs 6|, see Figs. 11 and 12, for receiving the coin andguiding it to rest on a front holding plate 62 which is hinged to thecollection chamber as indicated at 63. A spring 64 is mounted on asupport rod 55, between a fixed arm 66 through which the rod passes, andthe rear of the holding plate, to releasably retain the holding plate incoin holding position; a shaft 61 is mounted in the sides of the frame,and has an arm 88 secured thereto which engages the under side of theplate 62 by means of a manually 'actuatable extension 62a directly belowthe spring 64, the shaft extending outwardly beyond the frame as shownin Fig. 1 and having a finger engageable trip 69 keyed thereto, wherebypressing on the trip turns the shaft and swings the plate to dischargethe coins thereon. 'When'the coins are thus discharged they fall into acollector 19 which has a releasable bottom plate H mounted to swing on ahinge rod 12, a spring 13 being also mounted on the hinge rod tonormally I hold the bottom plate in coin retaining position.

A finger tab 14 is secured to the under surface of the bottom plate formanual actuation against the tension of the spring 13 in order to permitrelease of the retained coins into the conductors hand.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, itis obvious that changes in the material, the shape, size and cooperationof the parts, may be made to suit the requirements for different coincollector and register designs, and that different features of theinvention may be utilized in other types of coin collecting andregistering apparatus, without departing from the spirit or the scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A selector construction for a coin collector comprising a guidechannel adapted to receive coins in stacked relation, a selector platehaving a plurality of annularly positioned openings, a retention chamberbelow each opening, each chamber having a releasable coin retainingplate, a rotatable shaft extending through said selector plate, an armkeyed to the upper end of the shaft and adapted to selectively pass thestacked coins over said openings in sequence until the coin enters anopening of the width corresponding to the coin width, and a cam keyed tosaid shaft in spaced angular relation to said arm and adapted to releasethe coin retaining plates subsequent to the entry of the coins into saidchambers.

2. In combination, a coin receiving hopper, coin receiving compartmentsfor receiving coins of different sizes, a selector for selectivelytransferring coins from said hopper to said compartments, a coincollector in communication with said compartments, hingedly mounted coinholding means for holding coins in said compartments, a coin register,and mechanism for periodically swinging the holding means to coinreleasing position and actuating the coin register.

3. In combination, a coin receiving hopper, coin receiving compartmentsfor receiving coins of different sizes, a selector for selectivelytransferring coins from said hopper to said compartments, a coincollector in communication with said compartments, hingedly mounted coinholding means for holding coins in said compartments, 2. coin register,and mechanism for periodically swinging the holding means to coinreleasing position and closing an electric circuit for actuating thecoin register.

4. In combination, a coin receiving hopper, coin receiving compartmentsfor receiving coins of different sizes, a selector for selectivelytransferring coins from said hopper to said compartments, a coincollector in communication with said compartments, hingedly mounted coinholding means for holding coins in said compartments, a coin register,and mechanism for periodically swinging the holding means to coinreleasing position and closing an electric circuit through a releasedcoin for actuating the coin register.

5. In combination, a coin receiving hopper, means for stacking the coinsdeposited in the hopper, coin receiving compartments for receiving coinsof different sizes, a selector for selectively transferring coins fromsaid stacking means to said compartments, a coin collector incommunication with said compartments, hingedly mounted coin holdingmeans for holding coins in said compartments, a coin register, andmechanism for periodically swinging the holding means to coin releasingposition and actuating the coin register.

6. In combination, a coin receiving hopper, means for stacking the coinsdeposited in the hopper, coin receiving compartments for receiving coinsof different sizes, a selector for selectively transferring coins fromsaid stacking means to said compartments, a coin collector incommunication with said compartments, hingedly mounted coin holdingmeans for holding coins in said compartments, a coin register, andmechanism for periodically swinging the holding means and closing anelectric circuit for actuating the coin register.

7. In combination, a coin receiving hopper, means for Stacking the coinsdeposited in the hopper, coin receiving compartments for receiving coinsof different sizes, a selector for selectively transferring coins fromsaid stacking means to said compartments, a coin collector incommunication with said compartments, hingedly mounted coin holdingmeans for holding coins in said compartments, a coin register, mechanismfor periodically swinging the holding means to coin releasing positionand actuating the coin register, said selector including a disk havinggraduated transfer openings respectively communicating with the coinreceiving compartments, and a rotatable device for transferringindividual coins from the stacking means over the transfer openings 8.In combination, a coin receiving hopper, means for stacking the coinsdeposited in the hopper, coin receiving compartments for receiving coinsof different sizes, a selector for selectively transferring coins fromsaid stacking means to said compartments, a coin collector incommunication with said compartments, hingedly mounted coin holdingmeans for holding coins in said compartments, a coin register, andmechanism for periodically swinging the holding means to coin releasingposition and closing an electric circuit for actuating the coinregister, said selector including a disk having graduated transferopenings respectively communicating with the coin receivingcompartments, and a rotatable device for transferring individual coinsfrom the stacking means over the transfer openings.

GRANVILLE M. WILCOX. WALTER S. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 626,528 Debremond June 6, 1899861,157 Brewster July 23, 1907 989,238 Drawbaugh Apr. 11, 1911 1,028,611Sattley June 4, 1912 1,080,738 Voglesong Dec. 9, 1913 1,210,732Voglesong Jan. 2, 1917 1,297,274 Thompson Mar. 11, 1919 1,325,766Thompson Dec. 23, 1919 1,927,265 Hume Sept. 19, 1933

